New agency to help Michigan veterans seek benefits

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — During a recent ceremony where a Vietnam veteran was awarded some long-overdue medals, Maj. Gen. Gregory Vadnais asked the man if he was receiving federal services such as health care or education. The former serviceman said he wasn’t eligible, because he had been drafted.

“I thought, `You’ve got to be kidding,”’ said Vadnais, the adjutant general and director of Michigan’s Department of Military and Veteran Affairs. “That’s not even remotely correct. This soldier had served his country in combat and never even asked what he was entitled to receive.”

The case wasn’t unique, Vadnais said. Many of Michigan’s roughly 680,000 military veterans don’t utilize the services and benefits they’ve earned — often because they don’t know about them or misunderstand the rules. Although Michigan has the nation’s 11th highest population of veterans, the state ranks dead last in federal money spent per person on services provided through the U.S. Veterans Administration — medical treatment, pensions, schooling, disability compensation, employment assistance.

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During his State of the State address last week, Gov. Rick Snyder said he would establish an agency in Vadnais’ department with a mission of helping veterans collect what they’re owed. He signed an executive order Friday creating the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, which will begin operating March 20 — the 10th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. It will serve as a go-between, linking individual veterans with government officials and helping navigate the bureaucracy.

“The Veterans Affairs Agency will provide more coordinated, high-quality services that will make it easier for Michigan veterans to recognize and access the benefits and services,” Snyder said in a news release.

In 2011, federal spending on VA benefits for the typical Michigan veteran was around $3,900, while the national average was over $5,500. The highest spending was in West Virginia, whose 163,000 veterans received an average of $8,700 each in VA-administered assistance. Fewer than 20 percent of Michigan veterans receive benefits.

Michigan’s low ranking is longstanding and has several likely causes, officials said. The auto industry and other manufacturing companies provided blue-collar jobs with generous pay and benefit packages for many servicemen returning to the state from World War II and Korea, so historically there was less demand for government aid in this state than elsewhere.

Also, Michigan has no large-scale military installations that serve as magnets for retired personnel.

And many veterans, like the former Army soldier Vadnais encountered, are confused about eligibility criteria. Aside from the erroneous belief that those who were drafted into the service don’t qualify, another misconception is that benefits are available only to those who served during wartime, said Rob Price, veterans services administrator with the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Michigan’s benefit and service programs for veterans are scattered among 15 departments, and until now there was no state-level clearinghouse for information and assistance, unlike in many other states. Service organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars have helped file paperwork and served as advocates for those making claims.

The state of Michigan has just received VA accreditation to act on behalf of veterans. With that status, the new office will have access to federal databases and the authority to oversee processing of individual cases. The service groups and county veterans’ counselors will continue providing help locally, while the state agency acts as troubleshooter and coordinator and tries to make the application process less cumbersome.

The number of benefit applications from Michigan has jumped sharply in recent years, Price said. Eight years ago, about 2,000 claims under VA-administered programs were pending in the state. The total now is about 20,000 and could rise further as troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan. Even so, officials say it will take years for Michigan to achieve a significantly higher ranking in spending on benefits.

Younger veterans may be more inclined to seek their fair share — in part because of urging from those who fought in Vietnam, said Lino Pretto, legislative officer for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, another group that helps file claims.

“Those who served in southeast Asia did not get a warm reception when they returned home” and are determined to make things better for the next generation, he said. “This isn’t some open-ended entitlement program. This is something the veterans of this nation have earned and paid dearly for.”

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Online:

— Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: http://www.michigan.gov/veterans